searched in an attempt to identify all studies comparing ECT with simulated-ECT [SECT].

Results �
These placebo controlled studies show minimal support for effectiveness
with either depression or �schizophrenia� during the course of
treatment (i.e. only for some patients, on some measures, sometimes
perceived only by psychiatrists and not by other raters), and no
evidence, for either diagnostic group, of any benefits beyond the
treatment period. There are no placebo-controlled studies evaluating
the hypothesis that

ECT prevents suicide, and no robust evidence from other kinds of studies to support the hypothesis.

Conclusions �
Given the strong evidence (summarised here) of persistent and, for
some, permanent brain dysfunction, primarily evidenced in the form of
retrograde and anterograde amnesia. and the evidence of a slight but
significant increased risk of death, the cost-benefit analysis for ECT
is so poor that its use cannot be scientifically justified.